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Young less committed to recycling

Younger people are more likely to believe that responsibility for recycling lies with local authoritiesGetty Images

Young people are much less committed to recycling their rubbish than older generations, a survey has found.

Only 57 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds think it is very important to recycle as much household waste as possible, compared with 74 per cent of over-55s.

Younger people are also more likely to believe that the primary responsibility for recycling lies with local authorities. Only 29 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds think they bear the most responsibility to recycle, compared with 42 per cent of over-55s, according to the YouGov poll of 2,500 people.

Veolia, the waste company that commissioned the research, said that recycling bins in areas with high student populations had high levels of “contamination”, or non-recyclable waste.